unlovable
by that-girl-who-likes-writing
Summary: The former evil queen is broken inside. She seeks help and understanding. The outlaw wants to help. Will she let him? If he reaches deep enough, is it possible for him to save her? The story of a forming friendship between Robing Hood and Regina Mills, based on a song by the smiths - unloveable... just a drabble which became a multi-chapter fic because of requests in the comment
1. unlovable

_Oh…  
I know I'm unloveable  
You don't have to tell me  
Oh, message received  
Loud and clear  
Loud and clear  
I don't have much in my life  
But take it - it's yours  
Oh…_

"You think you can beat me?" the wicked witch whispers.  
"Darling," she continues in a mocking tone, "I know everything you do and oh so much more."

She takes two steps back. "You had everything given to you!" she screams, grave terror appears on the faces of the townspeople. Regina stays put, not moving. She keeps her royal posture for as long as she can, not showing her weakness.

"You don't deserve any of it," Zelena spats and disappears for a second, coming back holing a young boy. The whole town gasps in horror as they see young Henry's face. He isn't moving, but they can see him breathing. Emma tries to step up but her father pushes her back. He says nothing but the message in his eyes is crystal clear, leave it to Regina.

The former evil queen, on the other hand, does nothing but pout her lips a bit, only acknowledging the fact that her son is in mortal danger. She silently thanks her heartless mother for teaching her how to hide her emotions well.

No one sees, no one understands. The people of Storybrook haven't a clue as to what is going on in her head.

They believe now that Regina has completely lost it. Alas, Henry is the only person she loves, shouldn't she be at least crying like Emma and Snow currently are?

The Wicked One makes one more move. She plunges her hand into Henry's chest and takes out his heart. It is large and spotless, as everyone could already guess. The boy doesn't move, like he's under a sleeping curse. He just lays in the arms of the witch, completely unaware of his current situation.  
She presses his heart harder and it turns into ash.

* * *

Then she is in a limbo of a sorts. Trapped with all the people she had ever allowed herself to love.

"You are such a disappointment," her mother says wickedly, "maybe I should've kept Zelena and not this pathetic excuse for a daughter."

"All I ever did was love and support you," her father jumps in, "and you answered by taking my life. Why?"

Then the only man she had ever loved steps in front of her, a disappointed look on his face.

"Daniel," she wants to say but words fail her and only a small whimper escapes her lips.  
"I loved you," he says, "I loved you and you allowed me to be murdered by your own mother. You turned me into a monster just for your selfish reasons. Now you seek love with a man you've barely spoken with just because some magic dust told you so. Did I mean nothing to you? How could you do such a thing to me? Even your own son is better off without you in his life," he finishes off by pointing behind her. She turns around only to be met with Henry, being sent off to school by Emma. They can't see her. Her only son hugs the savior and calls her his mum.

Regina can't take it. She starts crying.  
Henry turns around, noticing her. "Are you okay?" he asks, "Don't tell me you're angry with me for loving my mum more than you. She gave birth to me. She is the savior. You're just the evil witch."

_I know I'm unloveable  
You don't have to tell me  
Oh, message received  
Loud and clear  
Loud and clear  
I don't have much in my life  
But take it - it's yours_

* * *

Suddenly Regina wakes up in her bead, screaming her head off. Once she calms down, she starts crying uncontrollably.

As she finally stops after an hour of agony, she goes to her bathroom to wash off. She closes her eyes once she sees her reflection in the mirror. She can't bear to look at her messy hair, her deep, dark under-eye circles and red eyes. She sighs, slapping some water over her face.

She tries to sleep but for nothing.  
She gets up and gets dressed.  
It was four in the morning when Regina Mills was wondering around in the woods by herself.

_I wear Black on the outside  
'Cause Black is how I feel on the inside  
I wear Black on the outside  
'Cause Black is how I feel on the inside_

* * *

She hears the sound of branches breaking, turning around just in time to catch an arrow flying in her direction. Yet again, she is faced to the man who almost murdered her, a couple of times, for that matter.

"My apologies," the man says, "I assure you, that arrow was not meant for you."

The evil queen rolls her eyes at the thief, and, also, her supposed soul mate. She almost laughs at the irony.

"You know, I'm starting to think you're holding some grudge against me," she says as she throws the arrow in a nearby tree, using magic to direct it, she managed to plunge the arrow in the tree, "well, either that or you aren't as good with the bow and arrow as you think you are."

"You shouldn't be in the woods this late, milady. I thought you were the Wicked Witch," he replies as he puts his crossbow down.

"Get a pair of glasses already," she retorts as she sits down on a tree trunk next to her. She closes her eyes as she feels a headache coming.

He sits next to her, silent.

Neither of them really knows what's the proper etiquette for when you run into someone in the middle of a forest in four am, so they stay silent for a couple of moments until Regina breaks the silence.

"What are you doing her in the middle of the night?" she asks.

"I should be asking you the same. I heard some noise while in our camp so I came to check it out. What about you? What brings you to the woods all by yourself?" he asks back, a little mockery in his deep voice.

"I decided this as good as time as any to go on a flying monkey hunting trip," she sarcastically replies. He smirks but his smirk drops as he notices something is wrong.

"What?" Regina asks once she sees his serious face.

"Why are you here, Regina?" he asks. She is startled by his, this time, serious question and gets mad at herself for not have seen it coming.

"Nightmares," she says. She doesn't want to beat around the bush. She doesn't care if he finds her weak. She only wants to speak to someone who's willing to listen.

"Is it about your son?" he asks carefully. He doesn't want her to fall apart, seeing how fragile she really is.

"Partly," she answers truthfully, "mostly him and everyone else I've let down. And, trust me, the list goes on and on."

"I don't doubt that," he says with a shrug, she gives him the stink eye, "what?" he defends, "You were known as the evil queen once."

She takes a deep breath.  
She knows he's right but it hurts, nonetheless. She somehow expected him to think of her as someone else, at least someone other than the person she was once upon a time.

"You do know you're not know as the evil queen now?" he asks, giving her a reassuring nudge, "Here, now, you're just Regina, the mayor who is currently trying hard to save this town from a wicked witch."

"Yes, the wicked witch that happens to be my sister." She states, feeling guilty as ever.

"It's not your fault she attacked you," he starts again, but she interrupts him.

"Yes, actually it is," she says, "she is here because of me. I did something to her. I don't know what but it was surely something awful. Everything around here is my fault."

Robin doesn't respond. He knew that comforting Regina wouldn't be an easy task, but even he didn't expect this much self-loathing from such a strong and powerful woman.

"You're not very good at comforting people, Hood." Regina says after long periods of comfortable silence.

_And if I seem a little strange  
Well, that's because I am  
If I seem a little strange  
That's because I am_

* * *

"Come with me," he says to her. She gives him a quizzical look.

"Our tents are nearby," he half-explains, "and, as I always told Roland, the best way to beat nightmares is to stay up and talk to someone. I have an extra sleeping bag in my tent, if you'd like to continue talking."

Regina smiles. She can see he's being sincere. 'to hell with it,' she thinks. So she nods, getting up when he does and following him.

She thinks he's good enough company. She talks, he listens. He tells her stories about his master thefts and she tells him stories about her past, before she was deemed evil.  
She confesses about Daniel, leaving out the part where she tried to bring him back to life. He confesses about Marian, his wife and Roland's mother.

He shows her where he keeps her heart. She says he's good at hiding things that don't belong to him.

They talk until they both fall asleep.  
She isn't awoken by nightmares, but she is the first to wake.  
Robin isn't surprised that she left. He is surprised he wasn't dreaming, as he knows when he sees a note on her folded sleeping bag. Only two little words, but enough for him, 'thank you'.

_But I know that you would like me  
If only you could see me  
If only you could meet me_

* * *

**A/N**

**if you want a multi chapter fic, comment. **


	2. Magic

Magic

_When I'm with you  
And I just got broken  
Broken into two  
Still I call it magic_

A smile creeps up on the queen's lips as her sister departs, flying away on her broom. There is one thing Regina loves – a good challenge. It seems she had just gotten one, in the form of a wicked step-sister. The Wicked Witch might be dangerous but Regina is angry, and when she is angry – all hell is about to break loose.

She rushes back to the thief, freeing him of the spell that kept him from moving and therefore stopping her in her mission to put herself under a sleeping curse. She quickly starts to pack up her potions.

"You didn't go through with it," the honorable thief says, more of a statement than a question. He is relieved, and feeling a bit successful once he sees her alive, well and, importantly, awake. He notices her posture has changed since mourning the loss of her son mere moments ago. She no longer looks like she will hurt herself nor break down crying anytime soon. She seems almost fine.  
And very much angry.

"You were right," she replies as she continues to clear up the desk where she made her sleeping curse, she examines that bottle in particular and smirks, putting it in a case for safekeeping. "The sleeping curse wasn't the answer. As you said," she turns around to face the thief, "I just needed to find something to live for."

This surprises Robin. He proudly urges her to go on, interested as to what might have saved the queen in such a short time since she wished such terrible future upon herself.  
"And you found it? What?" He asks, smiling a bit.

"The one thing I haven't had in a very long time," she says. She smiles widely but it isn't a smile of someone who is happy or in love. No, this is a smile of a broken person, filled with regret and fears, turning into a monster. She looks so diabolical, led by hatred and revenge.

A confused look on Robin's face says it all. He is afraid to even ask what could've possibly led the great Evil Queen Regina to this maddening state. And, as she continues, he grows more and more anxious with her words.

"Someone," she pauses for added affect, her grin beginning to resemble the Cheshire cat, "to destroy."

_Call it magic  
Cut me into two  
And with all your magic  
I disappear from view_

Regina sits on her bed in her old room, flipping the pages of an old book. It has no title but when you approach it, it doesn't take much time before you see it for what it truly is. A book on dark magic. The woman formerly known as 'the Evil Queen' is completely engaged in the book, going over every spell she has ever heard of until she finds the right one.

It's a curse of a sorts. The outcome isn't stated because the page with the cautions is ripped out. The damage to the book was done a long time ago by Cora, Regina's mother. She barely remembers what gruesome details were written there, but she knows enough to know it was awful.  
Some might say, 'a fate far worse than death'.

It was not meant to kill anyone, it was, in fact, a method of torture. One that is so horrible and inhuman, not even the heartless Cora herself could bring it upon herself to try on her worst enemies. It was a curse created by the Dark One in his worst of times. The time following the departure of his son.  
It shoved his nastiest side. The darkest part of a horrendous monster. That was the side Regina could agree with now at her toughest of moments. She had just lost her son, morals didn't matter anymore.  
She is broken pass every help. The only person who could save her from herself was in another world with no memory of ever having met his mother, the person who raised him, not the woman who gave birth to him. That made Regina angrier, she knew that this was her sacrifice, but it still hurt, badly.

And now a witch wants to hurt her and she barely even knows her, having met her only once. All she knows was how the green witch, claiming to be her sister, decided she would take everything from Regina. And she wasn't about to let someone break into her castle, wear her clothes, use her things and feel powerful enough threaten her.  
Not after everything she's lost.

She rips out the page of the book, hoping she could find the right ingredients in the woods, given how hard they are to come by. Some are easy and could be found in her chambers where she brews other potions, others are, well, the kind that grew in only certain times and under certain conditions. However, Regina is desperate, knowing she didn't exactly have all the time in the world, she finds a few other potions she thinks would suffice for what horrors she wishes upon her step sister, she takes them too, just to be sure.

She manages to sneak out without anyone noticing, the last thing she needs is Snow's self-righteousness. She reaches the woods after a few minutes of walking when she hears someone sneaking up on her. She turns around, fireball ready in hand, only to see Robin Hood, the king of thieves. She extinguishes the magical flame on the palm of her hand and closes her fist.

"Go away," she orders. He doesn't listen to her and, instead, comes closer.

"Where are you going?" he asks. She turns around, continuing her search, not willing to converse with anyone.

"None of your business," she snaps. She walks pass a tree and fins a clearing she was looking for. She goes to a small sapling and takes four of it's rounded, dark green leaves.

"What is that?" he asks once again. Regina sighs and rolls her eyes, turning around to face him. She is surprised when she sees how close he is, barely a step away. She stops a gasp from escaping her lips. Even though she feels uncomfortable, she refuses to move back and show her uneasiness.

"What does it matter to you?" she asks, becoming more and more annoyed with the incessant pain in the back who goes by the name of Robin Hood.

"Just curious, milady," he says a bit too mockingly for Regina's taste, "I followed you out here to see to it that you don't get hurt. It is dangerous to be in the forests by yourself."

"I can take care of myself," she says, putting the leaves in a little pouch she keeps around as her purse.

"I can see that," he replies, smirking devilishly.

Before she can reply, a loud scream interrupts her. She recognizes Bell's voice shouting for help. She follows her voice, a fireball in hand, whilst Robin prepares his bow.

They enter a bit deeper into the woods, finding a distressed Belle running in their direction holding a candelabra. Regina stops, confused out of her mind.

"There's no time," Belle yells out, seeing their confused faces "it's the witch, she has Rumple's dagger."

Regina briefly considers materializing a fireball but decides against it, if the wicked witch is in possession of the dagger and Belle is so distraught, it must mean that somehow, Rumple is alive.

She quickly grabs Bell's and Robin's hand and suddenly they appear in the castle.

They are safely back in the castle before Robin even realizes what had just happened. In one moment, he saw Belle running towards them, and in the other, they are standing in what appears to be a ballroom turned into a place for the people affected by the old curse to stay.

Regina lets go of him, but pulls Belle along with her to a table where Snow White and the prince were sitting. They get up to meet them, a bit of confusion showing on their faces as they see who had just arrived. Before they say anything, Regina gives them a pointed look.

"It's Rumplestiltskin," Robin can hear the Queen whisper, he carefully approaches them, eager to hear more of this conversation.

"What do you mean?" Snow White asks, her face growing paler by the second.

"We tried to bring him back," Belle says, tears falling from her eyes. Snow hugs her and tries to comfort her.

"It's okay," she whispers, "calm down and tell us what happened."

"You can start by explaining who were you with, and what is that you're carrying with you," the prince adds.

Belle puts the candelabra on the table without answering the first question.

"Light it," she says to Regina who reluctantly obliges. With nothing more than a flick of her wrist, the candles alight and a face appears in the flames. Regina looks intrigued, lifting her eyebrows whilst everyone in the room, excluding Belle, gasps, shocked.

"He tricked Neal and I to try and revive Rumple," she explains trough soft sobs.

"Then where is Neal?" Charming asks carefully. Belle shakes her head, her eyes closed.

"A life for a life," Regina says, quietly enough so she is barely heard. It is clearly visible on Belle's frightened face how right the Queen is.

"Rumple tried to stop it," she says, "when Neal was dying, Rumple tried to save him, in the end, it was like he had absorbed Neal's body. I'm not sure, it was horrible. And the witch, she ordered Rumple to kill me but I ran away. Lumiere saved me so I took him with me."

"Who is Lumiere?" Snow asks.

"That would be me," the face in the fire replies. A few people around him gasp.

It doesn't take Robin more than a few seconds to notice the Queen is missing. He realizes she must've left while everyone was in occupied by Belle's story. He turns around just in time to see her leave through the door of the ballroom. He quickly goes after her, eager to see what is she planning.

He follows her up to her chambers where she closes the door after her. He stops, unsure if he should knock or not. This woman is, after all, 'the evil queen', it is possible she doesn't want any company from a thief. However, his instincts kick up as he hears the sound of glass breaking, coming from inside her room. He knocks on the door after a few seconds of delay.

"Is everything alright, milady?" he asks.

"I'm fine," he hears her yell out, "leave!"

"Are you sure?" he contradicts, "Did you hurt yourself?"

"I said I'm fine," she repeats, he notices the anger and irritation in her voice. He smirks, opening the door. She is sitting on her large bed, her hand is bleeding heavily. Her eyes flash guiltily on a broken mirror laying in pieces on the floor. He rushes worriedly to her.

"By the gods," he says, "what did you do?"

"I decided I was bored and it was as good time as any to break my mirror," she replies, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Do you have something to stop the bleeding?" he asks, "A cloth maybe?"

"Here," she says and materializes a towel with her other hand. He looks impressed but keeps his side comment to himself.

"Perfect," he says simply, putting it on her wound, softly brushing it around the wound to absorb the blood.

"Do you have any alcohol around here?" he asks, looking around her room.

"Great, now you want to drink while tending my wounds. I knew it was a bad idea to let you help me," she says sarcastically. He flashes her a set of dimples, amused with her mood.

"I can assure you it is meant solely for your wound, milady," he replies with a charming smile. Regina rolls her eyes and nods towards a cabinet behind him.

"Where is some aspirin when you need it," she whines.

"I beg your pardon," Robin says, confused. Regina sighs. There are some things that are easy to get used to in the world without magic, and painkillers are most definitely one of those things.

"It's nothing," she says, "I just have a headache. The world we were in during the curse had better medication."

"Oh. Maybe this could help?" Robin suggests, holding up a bottle that looks like it could hold some alcoholic beverage. She shakes her head slightly, smirking at his choice. Of course, out of all the bottles in there, he chooses the one with poison.

"It might have," she says, almost giggling at the idea, "but at the other hand, it would also paralyze me from the neck down."

Robin examines the bottle thoughtfully. His face has an almost comical look of horror on it that Regina can't help but let out a small laugh. He carefully puts the bottle back where he found it.

"What about this?" he asks, holding up another bottle, similar to the first one.

"Turns you into a toad." She says, trying not to break out laughing.

"We wouldn't want that now, would we?" he asks, grinning widely.

"No," she says, shaking her head to emphasize, "I don't think so."

"Please tell me this one doesn't turn you into a bear because I'm running out of my options," he says as he holds up a small red bottle.

"That," she says seriously, "is something so dangerous, I advise you to put it back immediately."

"What does it do?" he asks, interested in the little red potion.

"It takes away every single bit of free will in your body. It's a love potion," she explains. She fights the urge to laugh at the face Robin makes as he gets rid of that one.

"Do you have anything in here that doesn't have any magical properties?" he wonders aloud.

"Depends on what you think of as magic," she says truthfully, "however, I do remember a bottle of rum being somewhere in there."

He looks at her quizzically.

"The tall brown bottle, possibly behind a blue one with a picture of a rose on it," she gives him the description. He finally takes out the bottle, feeling successful with himself.

"That's the one," she says, and he proudly opens it.

"Definitely rum," he says as he smells the liquid.

"And," she says, "while you are there, fetch me the blue rose bottle. Just put it on the desk, I'm going to be needing that one later."

"And what does that one do?" he asks as he pours a bit of

"It's a simple potion from a rare blue rose," she says, holding her breath a bit as he puts the soaked towel on her fresh wound, "I'm going to need it for a protection spell for the castle."

He nods understandingly.

A flash of guilt passes through her. She feels bad for lying, especially after the thief had helped her so much.  
But she doesn't need another holier than thou person telling her off for her devious spells. Snow White and her crew would surely do so as soon as they found out her plans. She knows that, she is sure of it.

"Thank you," Regina says once he lets her keep the towel on her hand by herself.

"You are most certainly welcome, milady," he says, doing a comical bow.

"You can call me Regina," she says, smiling at the thief's reaction. He looks confused at first, then for a second he looks for the catch, but in the end he just smiles.

"Really," he asks, still dazed at, well, at her normal behavior.

"Yes, really. Don't act so surprised. It is, after all, my name."

"Of course," he says, bending down to pick up the pieces of mirror on the floor.

"Oh," Regina says, "don't worry about that."  
Just as she says that, the pieces disappear in a cloud of purple smoke.

"I always found magic to be a necessary evil and had tried to keep as far away from it as possible," Robin says as he pours some rum in two glasses he found in the cabinet, "it never ceases to amaze me how normal magic is to you."

"It wasn't always," Regina replies wistfully. He offers her a glass but she refuses, shaking her head.  
"I don't day-time drink," she says.

Before he can answer, they hear a knock on the door, followed by a worried female voice they quickly realize belongs to Snow White.

"Regina, are you in there?" she asks, Robin notices the hint of worry in her voice. He quickly realizes how long they must've been gone.

"Well, I'm certainly not in Storybrook," Regina spits back venomously. Snow opens the door. Her expression changes from worried to surprised in a millisecond as soon as she sees Robin sitting nex to Regina on her bed.

"I believe this is my cue to leave," Robin says, getting up.

Snow gives Regina a pointed look which the evil queen subtly ignores.

"Smells like forest, huh?" Snow says right after Robin leaves hurriedly. She nudges Regina slightly and winks. The Evil Queen shakes her head at her ex arch nemesis.

"He was helping me with my wound," Regina defends.

"I bet he was," Snow contradicts, lifting her brows suggestively.

"Was there something you wanted or did you come here for no apparent reason?" Regina tries to change the subject, Snow picks it up and doesn't push the subject further.

"As a matter of fact I did," she says, "we needed your opinion on the Rumplestilskin situation but we couldn't find you."

"You shouldn't worry," Regina says as she materializes bandages for her cut and carefully starts to wrap them around her arm.

"What do you mean?" Snow asks, helping her with her cut as they talk.

"What I gathered from Belle's story is that Rumple took Baefire into him, to stop him from dying," Snow nods in understanding, allowing her to continue "and if that is true, it means that Rumple is essentially two people in one body. He is the dark one, but also only a human. Therefore, he cannot be controlled. Crises averted, good prevails and Snow White is victorious. Let's throw a party."

Snow laughs.

"I actually like that idea," she says, enjoying the look of horror Regina has on her face.

"You want to throw a party?" Regina asks.

"Yes, a proper ball would be in order," she explains, "if what you're saying is true, then we really have won this battle and the Wicked Witch can't use the Dark One against us, we have a good cause for celebration."

"You have got to be kidding," Regina says, not sure if Snow's proposal is a good idea.

"Well we did escape the curse. We should celebrate."

"Yes, the one I casted upon this land. You cannot seriously believe they forgave me."

"Why not? Regina, you have to start seeing the good in people. They are more than capable of forgiveness if only you give them a chance."

Her step mother shakes her head. Getting used to living with Snow White would be hard.

She doesn't understand, Regina doesn't want to be forgiven, she wants to leave. To let it go.

Everyone hates her, they know her as 'The Evil Queen'. They don't think she's changed and they certainly don't believe she's good. Reputation is a powerful tool, and it's not easy to rid of it or even improve it.

She doesn't want anyone to be afraid of her or pretend they've forgiven her. She wants to flee the castle, find a new place to stay and let go of the chains of her past.

"Okay," she says, only to get Snow to leave, "but can you leave me to myself for the night? I'm tired."

"Of course I can," Snow says, happily leaving the room, never doubting Regina for a moment.

Regina waits for a couple of moments until she makes sure Snow White is gone before she gets up and takes a large bag out of her closet.

She takes with her everything she might need, her bag with some necessities and the blue rose potion.

Before she disappears in a cloud of green smoke, she leaves behind a letter addressed to Mary Margaret Blanchard, a single tear staining the envelope sealed with the queen's red seal.

_And if you were to ask me  
After all that we've been through  
Still believe in magic  
Oh yes I do _


	3. perfect

Perfect

_Made a wrong turn once or twice_

_Dug my way out, blood and fire_

_Bad decisions, that's alright_

_Welcome to my silly life_

Birds are chirping and the wind sounds eerily human as it whistles through the forest. A young woman stands in the middle of a large clearing, looking rather distraught. She is wearing torn out clothes and her tangled black hair is falling in cascades over her back. Her green eyes look as though they can read into your soul with barely one look.  
Yet, she is evidently tired, carrying only a small bag with her – she looks lost, misplaced. By her feet lay pieces of a broken blue bottle which once held one of the most complicated and diverse potions she has done. A blue rose potion – the one which changes your appearance, by giving it to someone else. In a way, you enter another person's body and said person enters your. It cannot be undone by other wizards or witches and is the perfect solution for this girl's problem. It is used by the ones who wish to switch their lives out of pure curiosity, or maybe to even steal one's life.  
This one is being used for mutual benefits, or maybe it's better to say it's paying a debt of a sort.

She takes a step back, glancing behind her to the castle she once lived in. She knows that she is making the right choice, but it still feels wrong. She has always been on her own, and just as she has found a family, no matter how irritating, it breaks her heart to abandon them. Be it as it may, the decision was hers alone and it was the best possible one for the moment. She saved them by leaving, and she was about to save herself by hiding until she is ready to defeat her newest obstacle.

She puts some dirt over the glass, making it look like a broken beer bottle. She avoids to use magic, knowing very well she is being watched at the very moment.

She sees someone entering the clearing in her peripheral vision. He is a rather large man, one she recognizes by the name of 'Little John'. He is holding his bow and has an arrow ready to shoot. The girl suppresses a smirk, remembering how she met the strange man.

"State your business in our woods," he yells out so she can hear. He doesn't come any closer, keeping his ground. The girl doesn't move as she doesn't want to scare him into launching the arrow.

"I'm lost," she says. Her performance of a lost girl is so perfect that Little John even puts down his bow and walks up to her. He offers her his hand and she shakes it.

"They call me Little John," he says, "and what's your name, milady?"

"Leah," she says, her voice perfectly shaky.

"Where are you from, Leah?" he asks, concerned.

"A village a few miles from here," she says. She puts a strand of her hair behind her ear, trying to look the part.

"How did you get here then, if you don't mind me asking." He says. He takes her bag and steers her towards the direction of the Merry Men camp.

"I ran away," she says truthfully. He can hear the pain in her voice now. It is sealed, this man will unlikely ever realize she's lying.

"Why? And from whom?"

"From my husband," she says, following her cover story, "I couldn't let him hurt me anymore. It was too much."

She starts to sob quietly and Little John puts one arm around her.

"It will be okay," he promises, "you can stay with me and my friends for a while. I'm sure Robin wouldn't mind."

"Who is he?" she asks subtly. She damn well knows who that man is. He is the reason she is still in the forest. She knows the thief is her best chance for hiding. That man wouldn't ignore a chance for chivalry for all the gold in The Enchanted Forest. She figured, if a man would offer to help the Evil Queen, how could he ever ignore an innocent woman looking for a shelter? She needed a place to stay, and the fact that Robin Hood isn't her favorite person was a fact she could ignore for the time being.

"He is the leader of our group," admiration in his eyes, this man shows great pride for being a 'merry man', "the honorable thief, Robin Hood."

:-:

They arrive to the camp just before nightfall. Leah stays behind as Little John describes to the others how they met and what she told him about her abusive husband. The men show disgust as John goes over the gruesome beatings Leah described to him. To be fair, she didn't really lie about the beatings, she did suffer all of them, just not by the hand of her husband but by the hand of her mother.

They are shocked and don't appear to know how to deal with this information, just as Leah suspected the men would act. They show sympathy for what the lady has been trough and some even vow to her that no harm will come to her way in their camp. They promise they will one day make her husband pay for what he has done.

The only female in their group doesn't waste time but gets up and finds Leah a place to stay. She decides it would be best if the two of them would share a tent as it seems to be the logical step. Mulan, as she introduces herself, is a warrior. She doesn't claim to understand Leah's pain, only promises to protect her while they live together. She is quite friendly and even helps Leah unpack her things.

It takes a few hours before Leah leaves her new tent. She slowly introduces herself to all of the merry men and once again expresses gratitude for letting her live with them. She can't help but notice that Robin Hood still hasn't arrived. She hopes he had left the castle before Snow saw her letter, and has no idea the queen is missing. It might raise red flags that Thea arrived almost at the same time that Regina left. It shouldn't be hard to put the two puzzle pieces together but she hopes she can avoid anyone doing just that. As often as shape-shifting spells are, she keeps her fingers crossed that the world forgot about their existence.

For her plan to work, no one can ever find out that Thea and Regina are the same person.

_Mistaken_

_Always second guessing_

_Underestimated_

_Look I'm still around_

:-:

She walks around the camp looking around for a shelter, a place she can sit and work out her thoughts without anyone bothering her. She finds a nice spot – a rather large log laying on the grass of a clearing just outside of camp. She sits down on the grass, nicely sheltered by the log. She begins picking the grass around her out of sheer boredom. Although she would like to practice her magic, she doesn't want anyone to see her doing so, as that would surely raise a few red flags.

She sits in her new hiding spot for no more than a couple of minutes before she notices a small shadow approaching her, followed by the figure of a cute young boy. She quickly recognizes Roland, the boy she saved, Robin Hood's son. He is still holding on to his new toy monkey.

"Hello," he says with that pure childish curiosity in his eyes she remembered in her own son.

"Hello," Regina responds.

"I am Roland." He says as he further approaches her, "Who are you?"

"My name is Leah," she says.

"You are new here, miss Le-ahr?" She smiles at the way he pronounces her name of choice.

"Well, yes, I suppose I am. I will be staying with the merry men for a little bit, if their leader accepts me."

Roland's eyes sparkle and his dimples show as she smiles.

"I'm a merry man," he states proudly.

"Oh, really?" Regina asks. She can't help but smile at the child.

"My papa is the leader. I'll take you to him, he will let you stay. You're going to be a merry lady just like Mulan!" he exclaims happily.

"Come on," he tugs at her dress as he struggles not to drop the branches he holds in his arms. Regina takes the branches from him, laughing at the boy.

They arrive at the camp just in time to see Little John talking to Robin. The thief looks interested, his eyebrows up to the skies. Just as the cured people came back home, this happened. He doesn't want another mouth to feed but he doesn't say 'no'. He isn't able to say it. Little John tells him everything that the poor gal has been trough lately and no gentleman can refuse to help her after all the horrendous things the overweight man describes quickly, not wanting to waste time. So Robin accepts, he advises Little John to go get the girl so he can meet her. He himself decides to go seek out his boy as he had been out for a while now. He knows where he can always find him – down by the log, but he still worries about the child.  
Just as he turns around, he is faced with his son, holding the hand of the woman who he believes to be Leah. He bows before he takes his son in his arms.

"You must be Leah," he says. She smiles at him but it is more a smile of resentment than anything else. This man might've helped her, yes, but he is still the thief who used to steal from her, which is not easy to forgive and forget. She tries to pull down the sleeve on her arm so he doesn't recall the cut he helped her with. She knows that he could figure out who she is if he sees the cuts on the exact same places as the ones from earlier. She curses herself for not thinking about this earlier. However, he doesn't notice anything unusual, so she barely contains a sigh of relief.

"Nice to meet you," she says, "Robin Hood, I presume?"

"I see my reputation precedes me," he says. He smiles at her, almost flirtatious. The queen suppresses a scoff. She can't blow this opportunity but it is still funny to her as how different this situation would be if he knew who she was.

"I've heard stories," she follows in with his half-flirtation, "but it might be the fact that your son told me who you are that I managed to recognize you."

She laughs and winks.

"I see," he says, putting Roland down. The young boy tugs at Robin's shirt until he stoops to the child's height. Roland whispers something in his father's ear and then runs away with a joyous laugh.

Regina can only guess what he said but it's a good guess as any. Roland did, after all, promise her that he'll vouch for her.

She bites her lower lip nervously as the thief smirks.

"I see you've already won over my son," he comments. Regina chuckles slightly, not sure what to say.

"He's a sweet kid," she says.

"That he is," Robin agrees with her. He gestures for her to follow him as he starts walking further into the camp. She complies, walking next to him.

"He reminds me of someone I used to know," she says wistfully.

"And who may that be?" he asks. She pauses, trying to think of something good to say. It was a mistake to mention Henry, she knows that, but she couldn't help it. Robin's son bares so much similarities with her own son.

"A close family member," she says, carefully avoiding details, "a late family member."

Robin doesn't say much. He nods in respect for the woman and offers condolences. He doesn't ask further questions, which works well with Regina. They stay in silence until they arrive at what appears to be the tent she is sharing with Mulan.

"Does this mean I'm allowed to stay here?" she asks once she sees where they are. She notices Mulan approaching them with her peripheral sight. The warrior turns around as she notices the pair, possibly not wanting to interfere.

"I believe it does, m'lady," Robin responds, a smile creeping up on his lips, "you may stay as long as it suits you."

"Thank you so much," Regina responds happily, "I shall forever be in your debt."

She bows a little to show appreciation and enters her tent. She sits down by her makeshift bed and takes out a small object from the bag she brought with her. As the sunlight breaks out from outside and enters the tent by small holes by the sides, the object is shown, and it is most definitely a mirror. She smirks, seeing that her old friend is back in his old form.

"My queen," the mirror suddenly says. She puts a finger to her mouth, gesturing for the genie to stay silent.

"I need your help," she says, her voice barely above a whisper, "and if you play your cards right, you shall be freed."

"Anything, my queen," he responds, this time keeping his voice silent.

"This will be different than usual," she warns, "it's not a command anymore, but a favor."

The magical mirror doesn't have time to respond as they hear footsteps approaching. She cleans the mirror with the palm of her hand before hiding it under her sheets. She starts folding a piece of clothing she brought with her, just to seem as she is doing something other than being weirdly suspicious. She shakes her head, containing laughter, as Roland comes in, carrying his new toy monkey.

"Le-ahr," he muses as he steps in front of her, hugging the monkey tightly as he offers the queen a toothy grin.

"Hello, Roland," she greets the boy as he steps in front of her, "what is that you're carrying?"

"It was a gift from the queen," he states so proud that Regina's broken heart heals just a bit. She grins. He hands the toy to her and she carefully inspects it.

"It's lovely," she comments.

"So is the queen," the boy says, "she saved me from an evil monkey!"

"She sounds really nice," Regina says, the smile never leaving her face, "I'd love to meet her one day."

Before the boy gets a chance to answer, Mulan comes into the tent. She looks dumbfounded when she sees the pair talking. She goes to them.

"Just the people I was looking for," she says, not very enthusiastic, "we have a quest. Robin just got a letter from Snow White. The queen is gone, we are going to search the woods for her."

Regina quirks an eyebrow. 'I guess Snow didn't listen to what I wrote to her after all.' She thinks as she gets up to leave the tent. She suspects she will also be helping in their search, which will be of great use to her.

"How can I help," she asks Mulan.

"I don't think you need to. There is enough of us to go around. You can stay in the camp with Roland and a few others."

Roland looks up at the sound of his name, but knows better than to interfere the two adults in, what seems to be a rather heated argument. Regina pats him on the head before he takes his monkey and leaves.

"But I would love to help," she pushes, "I need something to help me get my mind off things. I can't just sit here and wonder what would happen if my husband ever found me."

Mulan seems as though she is thinking about it. Finally, after a few moments she nods her head and speaks out, "I understand. I shall speak with Robin."

She leaves as quickly as she had entered and Regina lets out a deep sigh of relief. She puts her mirror into a little pouch it barely fits in and ties it around her belt. She makes it look like a normal bag, which is exactly what she was hoping for. She goes after Mulan, finding her with Robin. She comes just close enough to perform a simple spell to listen in but not close enough for them to notice her.

"She could search with me," Mulan offers, "I'll look after her."

Robin doesn't seem like he's considering it. He slightly shakes his head no.

"I don't think it's the best idea," he says truthfully. Regina scoffs.

"But I feel it would be best to respect her wish," Mulan counters, "she isn't going through what you may call the best chapter in her life. The least we can do is help her not think about it. Can you at least consider it for a moment?"

Regina smiles. She's ready to dance her happy dance when she hears Robin's voice once more.

"I agree," he says, "but she will go with me. I'll keep an eye on her."

It's a bittersweet moment. She feels successful that she's able to go to the woods, but she'll also be accompanied by the thief. She immediately thinks of plans to shake him off as she goes to the campfire that a few other men are sitting by. She sits on a log, trying to warm up. It's going to be a long night, she can already see it.

Mulan approaches her, she nods her head in acknowledgment.

"You can come with us," Mulan says, "but you'll be with Robin. If that isn't a problem."

'Leah' shakes her head. It's not a problem. No problem at all.

:-:

In an almost empty inn in a nearby village, a woman with the face of the Evil Queen is fixing up her hair and makeup. She undoes the bun on top of her head and washes her hair, letting it fall over her shoulders. She removes all her makeup and leaves the beautiful face natural. She is doing everything in her power to seem less like the queen and more like a peasant girl passing by in the village and staying at a random inn.

By no means can anyone find out she is a passenger in the body of the queen who is commanded to stay in the small village of Billswood upon Neara by the queen herself, so she can receive new orders from her when she is needed to go back to the castle.

She almost smirks at the complications she created for herself when she was just a young woman and had ended up owing a debt to Regina, who had saved her from an abusive husband. It is almost ironic, the way she is paying that debt, as she had always wanted to be someone else. Someone rich and powerful like Regina.

She sits on her bed in her room and stares up through the open window into the sundown, completely oblivious that the woman in her body is helping a group of people in finding her.

She goes to sleep, not really sure what to do until the message arrives.

_So complicated,  
Look how we all make it.  
Filled with so much hatred  
Such a tired game  
It's enough, I've done all I could think of  
Chased down all my demons  
I've seen you do the same_

:-:

The only indication that Regina is responsible for the cracking of branches and sounds of footsteps is the smile on her face as Robin leaves her to go inspect it. She doesn't waste any time. Sure, she's sent him on a wild goose chase fare enough but there is no telling how soon will he realize it was really nothing and come back. She takes out her mirror out of her makeshift bag and summons the genie out.

"I have no time so I have to be quick here," she says as soon as he is out of the mirror.

"My queen, I don't –" he tries to respond before she interrupts him.

"I'm giving you a one-way ticket out of this prison. You have to do something for me and be careful, I will find out if you do as I say."

"I understand." He says quickly, noticing they're in a rush.

She nods, satisfied.

"So this is what you have to do," she starts, "there is a girl in Billswood upon Neara. You need to get to her. She responds to the name 'Leah' and has my face."

She waits to see if he is understanding all of the information she is giving him. He simply nods but it suffices for her to continue.

"She will be staying at the Charming Horse Inn. She is most likely already there and waiting for you. I need you to get a message across. Tell her that the first phase of our plan worked, that I am safe and at the destination we discussed. Tell her there has been a change in our plans and that Snow White is looking for me, aka. her. Tell her she needs to immediately go to my castle. I'll send her supplies to get a horse and a letter from me. Here it is."

She hands him a pouch which is full of money and she also hands him a letter in an envelope.

"Anything else, my queen?" he asks before he sets off.

"Tell her everything will be okay. Tell her I believe in her and she can do it. She can play Regina almost as good as the real deal." The queen says with a smile. The genie disappears in a cloud of purple smoke and the queen smirks, unaware of the two curious eyes behind a row off trees, unsure of what they've witnessed.

_Exchange ourselves_

_And we do it all the time_

_Why do we do that?_

_Why do I do that?_

_:-:_

_Pretty, pretty please_

_Don't you ever, ever feel_

_Like you're less than_

_Fucking perfect_

_:-:_

**_A/N_**

**I am so sorry I've not posted in a while. I've had so much shit going on in my personal life so I couldn't write. And whilst I was overwhelmed with feels cause of the beautiful oq scenes, unlike the other oq ff writers I couldn't write then, which sucks.**

**I can't promise you any new posts soon since life's been hectic but I can promise I'll do my best. **


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